A detailed proposal for expanding the facilities at the 70-year-old hospital Government Multi-Specialty Hospital, Sector 16 (GMSH-16) with improved infrastructure in a 15-acre land identified at Sarangpur, 7 kilometres away, is all set to be submitted for the approval of the Chandigarh administration.
Director of Health Services Dr. Suman Singh said the proposal has been aimed at upgrading the hospital’s services and giving patients access to more facilities.
The land in Sarangpur has been earmarked as an extended facility of the “overburdened” GMSG-16 to house a five-storey 500-bed new hospital with better facilities and technology.
“This hospital was built way back in 1952 to cater to about five lakh people, and since then our population has increased to more than 12 lakh, with patients from across the region seeking treatment here. Our mother and child centre, and gynaecology and surgery departments are hugely burdened. We need more beds to give people better services,” the officer said.
The expansion proposal to another campus has been suggested due to the lack of space in the existing campus and there are little chances of going vertical, Dr Suman said. “So even if we have to renovate and upgrade our mother and child centre, we need to move the facility somewhere. We need another space that can also cater to the needs of the people from the surrounding areas,” Dr. Singh explained.
With more than 70 post-graduate students getting training in GMSH-16 for three years, there is a need for an academic block along with labs, and teaching and seminar rooms etc. The new proposal also incorporates a maternal block with birthing rooms for the privacy of mothers, and a guest house for outstation faculty.
“The idea is to keep filling the gaps and work keeping in mind the needs of the future. We are also exploring a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model for a cardiac cath lab and more facilities for MRI, CT, and ultrasound scanning in our Sector 45, 22 and Manimajra centres. Our 24-hour MRI facility, also done on a PPP basis, is working successfully. We hope to replicate this in another space,” Dr. Singh said.
